Falling For You
by Emmsiicool
Summary: In a world where people only can age when they meet their Soulmate, Tino is searching for his other half.
1. Falling For You

**Falling For You**

I've heard that long ago time could flow freely. You were born, you lived 100 years if you were lucky and then you died. I can't even start to imagine how many lonely people there would've been out there. No one remembers anymore when it changed but I guess no one cares either. People are happy the way it is now. Most of them at least.

"Tino!" The voice of my boss brought me back to reality. "You'll burn them!"

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" The smell of burnt bread spread through the kitchen as I took out the plate. Damn it, I'd done it again. "I-I'll start over…"

"Don't space out like that! I'd hate to fire my best employee for daydreaming" She stomped away and I chuckled as I packed away the bread. If you scraped the burnt parts off it would be edible. There was a lot of people living on the streets that would be grateful. As I started working on the new dough my thoughts trailed off again. I put a hand to my chest to search for the pounding from my heart but as usual, it was as still as ever. It had been like that for almost a year now, how could I be surprised? That's how it worked after all.

Most people call it romantic but I'm not as sure. Living in this world where you age until you're 20, where your heart beats until you're 20 was hard. I've heard that some people have managed to live hundreds of years! I slammed the dough onto the table, not really sure why I'd gotten irritated. I wanted to age, I wanted to grow older. I wanted to have a bunch of children, a dog and a small house on the countryside. But I knew that would only be possible if I found THAT person. I shook my head. That's just a dream silly.

Soulmates. The only way to age was finding your soulmate. That way you could grow old together. I kneaded the dough a bit too roughly before I threw it into a bowl. I've heard the stories but the chance of finding your "other half" was so small that most people thought it was a myth. At least in these, a bit poorer, districts. Then there's the rumours of people killing their soulmate so they can live forever. I looked at the clock and realised that the shop would open any minute now, I really had to get this done…

.

"See you tomorrow!" My boss waved at me as I stepped out of the bakery. My mood got a lot better as I saw the small puffs of white falling from the sky. Winter was finally here. I shuddered and pulled my thin jacket tighter around me. I stopped to buy some groceries on my way home, nodding and greeting the people I met. There was a lot of new people there, the town had gotten some newcomers lately. Well, with few deaths and long lives I guess overpopulation was inevitable. I shook my head, what was a horrible way of thinking! The bags were heavy but I knew it wasn't a long way to my apartment. I rushed a bit, eager to get out of the cold and to unload the bags but as I rounded a corner I suddenly hit a wall and bounced back. The bags, of course, fell onto the ground and the food rolled out. Great.

"You okay?" I don't know what freaked me out more, the fact that the wall could talk or the realisation that it hadn't been a wall. Instead I saw a big man towering over me with a stern look on his face. He didn't seem happy at all and when he lifted his arm, I automatically covered my face.

"I-I'm so s-sorry!" I realise that stammering might seem a bit pathetic but he was really scary. I froze as something grabbed my wrists and forced my hands away from my face. I still had my eyes closed though.

"Hey, you 'kay?" His voice was unsurprisingly deep but surprisingly friendly, almost concerned, with an accent I couldn't really place. I slowly opened my eyes and realised that he had crouched down to come into eye level with me. His eyes seemed worried and I suddenly realised that he was probably waiting for an answer.

"Me? Yes of course I am! I mean, I'm the one who bumped into you not the other way around so I guess I only have myself to blame and I mean my butt is getting a bit wet from sitting here and my food might be a bit ruined but it's fine since…" Oh no. I closed my mouth. The old ranting-when-nervous habit was kicking in. He seemed strangely amused even though his expression didn't change much.

"Good" He got back onto his feet and then easily lifted me so I stood up again. I blinked, a bit confused and suddenly the bags were back in my hands. I hadn't even realised that he had picked it up for me. Then, something suddenly covered my face. "Take 't, You seem cold" He walked past me and I was still a bit stunned. The scarf was warm and smelled softly of forests and wood. How it had gotten that scent in the suburbs of a big city was a mystery. I finally managed to snap out of it and turned around only to find out that he had already gotten pretty far away.

"What's your name?" I realised that it might be rude to ask a stranger his name, especially someone you should be thanking, but I couldn't help myself. He heard me, stopped and turned around.

"Berwald" Then he rounded a corner and was gone. I might have imagined it, but I was fairly certain I saw a blush on his face. Or it was only the cold. Most likely.

"Thank you, Berwald" I knew he couldn't hear me so I turned around and walked the last few blocks home. The rest of the day passed as usual. I made dinner, answered some e-mails, watched some TV and went to bed. Something that was different though was that I couldn't take my mind of Berwald. I barely managed to hope as I reached for my chest and as my hand reached the spot where the pounding should be, I held my breath.

Nothing.

I breathed out. Certainly, I was disappointed and felt embarrassed about hoping in the first place. The bed felt cold, I felt sad and he still wouldn't leave my mind. I twisted and turned and fell asleep only to see him in my dreams. The morning came all too soon and I dragged myself up.

.

"You look horrible!" My boss has always been an angel, always knew what to say to cheer me up! That was sarcasm. She was a very good friend though.

"I didn't sleep very well" I yawned as I continued to decorate the cake in front of me. I felt a few stares from the other bakers but ignored them. They were used to the cheery and fully energised me, not the tired version. I focused on my cake for another hour. That's when it happened. It felt like someone hit me right in the chest and I stumbled a few steps backwards.

"Tino! Are you okay?" One of the bakers ran up to me but I barely noticed. I was hit again but was caught before I hit the floor.

"What's going on in here?" Her voice cut through the air and I guess she must have seen me since I could hear her gasp. She ran up to me and pressed her hand over mine that was placed over my heart. We could both feel it. It was furious, it was fast but it was pounding. She took my face in her hands and only said one word, the only one I needed to hear.

"Go"

My apron practically flew off and I grabbed my jacket on my way out. I looked around, didn't know where to go. I made a quick decision to go the exact same route as yesterday. I entered the store. I couldn't be certain who I had actually reacted to even though I had my hopes. The cashier stared as I entered the store. I didn't blame him, I must've seemed mad. I rushed past the same shelves as yesterday but didn't see anyone. There was no one else in the store. I rushed outside and started running. Fast. I didn't understand why it had taken so long for it to react, why didn't it start pounding yesterday? My mind was filled with thoughts crossing each other and at the same time I couldn't think about anything but putting one foot in front of the other. I rounded the corner.

I guess I wasn't really paying attention well enough on where I put my feet. I should've been more careful but I wasn't so when the icy street made me slip I blamed no one but myself. But life still had its surprises because I never landed on the ground. Instead I felt a firm grip as someone grabbed me and caught me before I fell.

"Careful" Berwalds eyes were the same as yesterday and his voice sounded the same. But I had a hard time focusing on that since I could feel his heart pound hard through the winter jacket. "You're…" I realised that the hand not holding me had ended up on my chest and I guess there was no way he didn't notice. I chuckled.

"Guess I quite literally fell for you" The redness that spread across his face was adorable. "Speaking of which, you can let me go now"

"Oh" He let me go and we stood awkwardly in front of each other. I could feel a connection between us. It felt like this was meant to be. But we were still strangers, we had met only yesterday!

"So… Would you like to go for a coffee?" I noticed that he relaxed a bit and nodded so I led the way.

I couldn't know that it would only take us a few months to move in together. We would move into his house on the countryside and shortly after get a dog. I didn't know the happiness this man would bring me in the future but now, as he carefully took my hand, I got could at least get the first taste of it.

* * *

 **A/N** A fic I wrote for a SuFin event I was part of in which I got the prompt "Time" and this is the result. I hope you enjoyed and feel free to review!


	2. My Everything

**A/N** Hi! Someone requested a Dennor version of this AU so I took the time to write this!

Short description of this AU:  
Everyone ages until they are 20 years old and after that their heart stops beating until they find their soulmate. This way they can grow old together.

Hope you'll enjoy!

 **My Everything**

"No way!" I reached out and pressed my hand against his chest to feel the pounding. This was amazing, I had never actually met anyone below 20 whose heart was beating.

"Mathias, stop" Berwald took a step backwards to get away from my hand with a faint blush on his face. "That's not what I wanted t' talk about"

"Oh no, we will talk about it. Who is it? A man or a woman? Are they nice? Beautiful?" I suddenly realised that I was bouncing from excitement but couldn't bring myself to stop. I'd known Berwald for so many years, I mean, we had been living in the same house for so long!

"His name 's Tino" Berwald looked away with a brighter blush before he turned towards me again with new determination. "You'll meet h'm but we need t' talk about th's" He made a motion towards the room.

"What about it?" I didn't understand what he was getting at exactly. Berwald sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

"I won't liv' here for very long, I'll probably mov' somewher' with Tino eventually"

"What do you-" That's when it dawned on me. Berwald would be leaving and I would be left to live all alone in this big house. That wasn't actually too big of a problem, though it would get a bit lonely, but I knew I wouldn't be able to pay for it all alone. "I'll get thrown out"

"You can g't another place or a bett'r job"

"Easy for you to say! You got your life planned out now, but I'm stuck!"

"Mathias, calm down. Th't isn't what-"

"Even if I can stay here, what will I do? Just keep up the same old routine?" I realised that I was yelling and that I was being childish but I couldn't help it. Instead of staying and talking about it like grown men should do, I grabbed my coat and headed out into the snow-covered forest. We had been lucky to find this place in the first place since there wasn't many houses left on the countryside. To be honest, there wasn't many places to call the countryside anymore. The reason we could afford this place was mainly Berwalds well paid job and, to some part, my poorly paid job. If I would move, it would probably have to be somewhere crappy or creepy or something.

I was walking on a small forest path that led further away from both the small town and the house. Of course I was very happy for Berwald but, if I was to be honest with myself, I was also pretty jealous. The snow was falling quietly and piled up in front of me and I was deeply lost in thought. This was probably the reason that I didn't notice the footprints or the suspicious looking lumps in the snow in front of me.

"What the-" Getting a face full of snow didn't really make my mood better as I tripped but as I turned around and realised exactly what I had tripped over, my mind went pretty blank. Two persons was visible under a thin layer of snow. One of them was holding the other close to protect him and by the looks of it, it seemed like they were brothers. "Hey! Are you okay?" I tried shaking the older one but I didn't get any reaction. Luckily, but weakly, he was breathing.

"L-Lukas…?" The weak voice startled me and I looked down at the younger boy. He was looking at me through dozy eyes and barely seemed conscious. Despite this, he still managed to grab onto my coat with a surprisingly tight grip. "Wh-Who?" He was so cold that he was shaking and stuttering badly.

"Don't worry, I'll get you to a hospital"

"N-No, No hospital! But p-please help-p Lu-Luk…" Then he fell unconscious again. I pushed my confusion away and focused on helping the two of them. In the rush out of the house I had forgotten my phone and didn't have much other choice than to try and carry them back. I got the older one, whose name seemed to be Lukas, onto my back and his younger brother underneath one of my arms. I knew it would go slowly and I knew it would get cold but I started walking back towards the house.

.

"So he didn't take it very well?"

"He'll g't over 't"

"B-But I mean, if I'm causing trouble between you two I can just-"

"No, it's not 'bout you. He's excit'd to meet you" The voices came from the living room as I tired and wet stumbled through the door. I hurried as best as I could through the house until I entered the room and saw Berwald sitting next to a nervous but excited looking young man.

"Ber…"

"Mathi's, you're ba-" I saw how both of them froze as they looked at me.

"We need to help them" I was panting as Berwald ran over to help and Tino, I assumed it was Tino, was right behind him. Berwald got hold of Lukas while Tino took the other.

"We should get them to a hospital! They are in really bad shape!" Tino sounded really worried about these people he didn't know at all and I found myself liking him because of it. But then I frowned.

"No hospital. The younger one said not to" I turned towards Berwald that didn't seem like he liked that idea at all. I but on my best begging face and looked at him pleadingly. "Please? Let's at least find out why"

"Fine. G' change. T'no, come" I let out a relieved sigh as Berwald walked towards his bedroom with a confused Tino right behind. At that moment I was beyond grateful to share my house with a nurse. I heard Berwald telling Tino what to do as I turned and walked into my room to change from my wet clothes.

.

"Is he waking up?"

"I think so. Ber, Is he okay?"

"He'll b' fine"

"Oh! He opened his eyes!" I leaned in closer as Lukas slowly opened his eyes and I saw how they first got filled with confusion as he tried to figure out where he was. Then it changed into fear and panic but before I could say something to calm him, he punched me in the face so I stumbled backwards.

"Stay away!" Lukas sat up slowly and looked around in panic. It wasn't until he saw his brother laying next to him that he calmed down. He still didn't seem to trust us though. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"C-Calm down! We just want to help you!"

"That's r'ght"

"We – ow – treated you and everything" My nose was really hurting but I guessed that his reaction had been pretty normal so I didn't blame him.

"I see…" He relaxed slightly and turned towards his brother "Will Emil be fine?"

"Emil huh? Yes, he will" Emil was still unconscious but, thanks to Berwald, he was recovering pretty well. I noticed how Lukas slowly but surely built up a slight trust for us.

"Thank you" I barely heard him but still, I couldn't help but smile. But, I couldn't help but to wonder either.

"Why were you out there? And why didn't Emil want to go to a hospital?"

"Emil was awake?"

"Yes, but just for a moment and all he managed to say was to not take you to a hospital and to save your life" I watched how Lukas let the realisation sink in and once again, he looked down at his brother.

"Idiot" He shook his head and looked back at me. "I guess I got no other choice but to explain, you saved our lives after all"

"Thank you" I sat down on a chair next to the bed, still with a pounding pain in my nose.

"We…We come from the richer districts." He looked down at his hands with a shameful expression. I understood, there wasn't many people from these poorer districts that felt anything other than hate towards the richer people. They were assumed to be snobs that grew up with everything they wanted without a single hindrance in life.

"G' on" Berwald nodded at him carefully. None of us really cared about that kind of stuff.

"Living in that place isn't actually the way outsiders believe." He sighed "Your whole life is planned out even though no one knows how long it will get. Your parents decide what to study, what to say and even who to marry. Emil and I couldn't live like that so, we ran away."

"They came searching for you, right? That's why Emil refused to go to a hospital since you'd easily get found then" It sounded like the two brothers had been through a lot.

"Yes, somehow we managed to stay hidden but we had a hard time getting by. No one would hire me, no one would take us in and most of the time people would call the cops on us. We hadn't eaten or slept in days so we collapsed in the snow"

"That's horrible! I'll go cook something up! That's fine right Ber?" I watched as Berwald nodded at Tino that hurried away to make them some food. I'd gotten to know Tino better while we waited for them to wake up and my liking for him had only grown. He was perfect for Berwald and it was obvious that Ber was head over heels for him. I realised that the jealousy was slowly creeping up on me again so I turned towards Lukas.

"Are they still looking for you?" I was worried about them. Maybe I had grown up without a lot but at least I'd happy and had freedom.

"Probably. Don't worry, we'll leave as Emil wakes up" I realised. He thought I was going to throw them out.

"No, that's not it! You don't have to leav-"

"Non' of my patients w'll leave unt'l they've recover'd" Berwald towered above us with his arms crossed and the look of someone that will not accept a no. Then he left.

"I-I guess it's decided then" I shook my head as I looked at the door. Berwald probably left because he felt embarrassed but of course he would never admit it.

"Really?" It sounded as Lukas didn't believe it.

"Yes! Longer too if you feel like it!" I looked at him and smiled. Then Lukas, who had only been shifting between looking worried and frowning, suddenly smiled slightly. Then it hit me.

It was as if someone pushed me straight in my chest and I almost fell off the chair. On the bed I could see Lukas falling forward while clutching his chest. It took me a while to understand but as I did, the realisation hit me like a truck. My heart was beating wildly in my chest and it was beating for Lukas. I didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to say. But at the same time, I fell for him harder than I've ever fallen for someone and in only a matter of seconds.

"Lukas…" I walked over and sat down next to him on the bed and reached out a hand. "I think you might want stay here for a long time. Emil too of course"

"I'm…" I wasn't ready as he pulled me closer and laid his arms around me "…so happy" I answered by returning the hug.

"Me too" As I said the words, I realised that they were true. I was truly happy even though I knew the future would hold some challenges. Their troubling past would one day catch up with them but this time they had me on their side. I would fight for them, I would live for them. Because as of this moment, they were my everything.

an/p


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